'Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo' zooms in on Japan's obsession with insects

Gail Tolley
Thursday 09 June 2011 19:00 EDT
Comments

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Whilst insects are often greeted with a shudder in the Western world, in Japan, these tiny creatures are a source of admiration and enthralment. It's this intriguing cultural difference that forms the basis of a documentary by Jessica Oreck, who spent six weeks in Japan filming the country's fascination with insects. "They couldn't get it into their heads that the same culture didn't exist in America," says the young director. "Every time I started oohing and aahing over a beetle, the entomologist would be like, 'What, they don't sell these in your grocery stores?'"

Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo, Oreck's feature debut, premiered at South by Southwest in 2009 before touring festivals across the world. It is a meditative look at a culture that for centuries has been influenced by insects, from the legend of the first emperor who named Japan the "Isle of the Dragonflies" to the contemporary craze of keeping beetles. "In the early 2000s it was a multi-million dollar industry. Not only were they selling beetles for several thousands of dollars each, they were selling everything insect-themed," explains Oreck. "Nowadays, more lasting is their devotion to fireflies, dragonflies and butterflies and their appreciation for cicadas and praying mantis, the insects that were at the heart of their artistic world as early as the 1100s."

'Beetle Queen Conquers Tokyo' is in cinemas from 1 July

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in